S&P 500 Earnings & Estimates and Earnings Growth Trend Line S&P 500 earnings have significantly outpaced historical growth trends. If profits start to slip in the coming quarters, richly valued stocks could face a sharp reckoning. Image: Real Investment Advice
S&P 500 Performance and Risk Appetite Indicator Good news for the bulls: Goldman Sachs’s Risk Appetite Indicator broke above 1.0 last week, a bullish signal that has historically lined up with roughly 15% median gains in the S&P 500 over the next 12 months. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Commodities vs. 50/50 S&P 500 and U.S. Treasuries Commodities remain undervalued relative to U.S. stocks and bonds, offering room for strategic allocations that enhance portfolio balance. Image: Bloomberg
Gold Prices in Real Terms Gold’s real price is sky-high right now. It’s a very different story from the dot-com boom, when investors piled into tech and gold fell out of favor almost overnight. Image: Deutsche Bank
Cumulative Gold Demand – Gold ETF vs. Central Banks Amid macro conditions, currency moves, and rising geopolitical tension, gold’s rally gathered pace in 2025 as central banks began competing with private investors for scarce bullion. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Bond Volatility – MOVE Index Rate volatility in the U.S. continues to fade, with the MOVE index back to 2021 levels as investors double down on steady growth and a resilient labor market. Image: The Daily Shot
Market-Implied U.S. Recession Probability With the market pricing a 16% chance of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months, recession risk remains modest and broadly in line with a moderate-risk environment. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
U.S. Equity Index Valuations vs. History The S&P SmallCap 600’s forward P/E of 16x looks attractive by historical standards, while the S&P 500’s 22x forward multiple, sitting in the 94th percentile, paints a very different picture on valuation. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
U.S. New Private Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits and Recessions In October, U.S. building permits declined to 1.411 million. Historically, building permits tend to peak and then decline prior to economic recessions Image: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Discretionary Investor Positioning With exposure now at the 58th percentile, discretionary investors have edged slightly above neutral, still reluctant to shake off the caution that has prevailed since March 2025. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
Gold Price vs. Other Assets You have to go all the way back to 1980 to find a time when gold looked this pricey against other assets. The question now is whether the metal cools while everything else catches up. Image: Bloomberg